


elf

by reddieforlove



Series: Reddie Drabbles/Oneshots [2]
Category: IT (2017)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Language, M/M, holiday fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 17:14:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13035735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddieforlove/pseuds/reddieforlove
Summary: Richie just wanted to sneak some pictures of his cute boyfriend in an elf costume. He never meant to cause a bunch of children to revolt against the rules.





	elf

**Author's Note:**

> Day two of my Reddie holiday fics. This one is just as ridiculous as the first.
> 
> Inspired by [this post](http://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/168548073909/person-a-is-a-mall-elf-person-b-thinks-this-is).
> 
> If there's something holiday/Christmas related you want to see for Reddie, let me know in the comments or on my [blog](https://reddieforlove.tumblr.com/).
> 
> .

Once in college, Eddie had to learn independence the hard way. Making the decision to stop taking the placebos that his mother had pushed on him for the majority of his life meant, to Sonia Kaspbrak, that he was cutting himself off completely. So work and school went hand in hand and Eddie couldn’t afford to be picky when it came to the jobs he was willing to do. That was how he found himself in the middle of a winter wonderland setup in Portland’s mall dressed as an elf while trying to avoid the stickiest of the children who were waiting to get their picture taken with Santa.

And that’s how Richie found himself there too, grinning widely as he tried to sneak pictures of Eddie to show their friends. Of course Eddie had noticed his presence and, through gritted teeth and narrowed eyes, tried more than once to make Richie disappear. It hadn’t worked so far. Richie was far too concerned with getting every angle of the outfit he wore, from the jingle bell shoes to the candy cane striped socks and ridiculous hat. Eddie definitely wasn’t the cheeriest of the elves, even as he tried to keep some sort of order amidst the chaos of wrangling kids and their parents.

“Mister.”

Richie felt a tug on his sleeve and glanced down to see a little girl with blonde pigtails and wide blue eyes staring up at him with confusion. She couldn't be more than six or seven.

“Yeah?” Richie said, glancing around to see where her parents were.

“Are you taking pictures of Santa too?” she asked.

He shook his head, realizing that using a camera around a bunch of children might just get him permanently banned from the mall. Security would definitely a hard time believing that he was simply there to take pictures of his elf boyfriend and Richie had the feeling that, if asked, Eddie might just be annoyed enough to claim that he’d never met Richie before.

“No, I’m taking pictures of that elf over there,” he said, pointing in Eddie’s direction just as he ushered a family up to Santa’s chair.

“Why?”

“Because… he’s important,” Richie said, quickly trying to bullshit his way into making sure the little girl didn’t alert her parents to the random guy taking pictures.

“Why?”

“He helps Santa.”

“Why?”

“Because without the elves, Santa wouldn’t have all the toys for you and the other kids.”

“Why?”

“The elves build the toys.”

The little girl looked from Richie to Eddie and back several times, her face screwed up in concentration as if she was trying to figure out if he was right.

“He makes the toys?” she repeated.

“Uh huh,” Richie said with a nod.

Suddenly the little girl darted away and he watched her run up to two people standing in line who didn’t even seem to notice that their daughter was gone. She tugged on her mom’s dress until she bent down to her level. Richie couldn’t hear what was said but suddenly the girl pointed at Eddie before pulling on her mom’s arm.

“I wanna take a picture with the elf!” she said a little louder, earning a few strange looks.

“Why honey?” the dad asked, looking confused.

“Cause he makes the toys!”

The little boy in the family behind them perked up, peering around to look at Eddie where he was standing to the side waiting as Santa took a picture with a child on each knee.

“He makes the toys?” another kid piped up.

“Yeah!”

“I wanna see the elf too!”

“Me too!”

“Me three!”

Richie looked on with wide eyes as kids began dragging their parents out of line. It took a while for everyone to figure out what was going on. Another of the elves tried to get everyone back in the Santa line but the kids had officially revolted and were all lining up to take their picture with Eddie, who was alarmed by the sudden turn of events. Any attempt to fade into the background abruptly ended when the little girl who spoke to Richie hopped up to Eddie and began talking to him. He said something in return and she twisted her head around, pointing directly at Richie with a smile.

Eddie looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and Richie lifted his hands in surrender, trying his best to look innocent. It didn’t work. But he couldn’t help but look on with a smile as Eddie began taking pictures with the kids before directing them over to Santa, giving the occasional apologetic look to his fellow elves. They all simply looked amused, along with the parents, and Richie got the chance to snap a few more cute pictures. Then Eddie’s shift ended and he didn’t have the chance to make an escape before the shorter boy was making his way over.

“I make the toys?” he said, pulling the hat from his head.

“Could’ve told her I wanted to fuck the sexy elf but I chose not to scar the young ears,” Richie said with a shrug.

Eddie rolled his eyes, muttering to himself before turning to walk away.

“I need to get my stuff from my locker,” he said without glancing over his shoulder.

“If you want to get down and dirty in the back room, Eds, all you had to do was ask,” Richie said, following him pretty easily. “I have one request, though. You’ll have to keep those socks on.”

“Shut the fuck up, Richie. This is where I work,” Eddie huffed.

Richie mimed zipping his lips and tossing away the key, not that Eddie was buying it. Sure enough, it didn’t take long for him to speak again.

“How pissed was Santa that you stole his line of admirers?”

“ _ You _ did that,” Eddie corrected him.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you were the cutest damn elf up there,” Richie said.

“Sexy or cute, Rich, which is it?”

They came to a stop outside of the employees only door and Richie reached up, tugging on the fluffy white ball on the end of Eddie’s cap.

“You’re everything,” he said simply.

Eddie stared up at him, looking lost for words for a long few moments before a smile formed on his lips. Then he reached up and twisted his fingers in the collar of Richie’s jacket, pulling him down for a brief kiss.

“I’ll be right out,” he said quietly.

“Don’t rush on my account, I’ll be busy sending all the pictures to the group,” Richie said, holding up his phone.

Eddie groaned, stepping away from him.

“You’re the fucking worst,” he said, jingling with every step he took away from Richie.

“Love those shoes!” Richie called after him.

“Go away,” Eddie said over his shoulder.

“You look good walking away from me babe!”

“I am calling mall security right now.”

“You know you love me!” Richie reminded him.

“Very regrettably,” Eddie grumbled.

“Love you too!”

**Author's Note:**

> I would love to hear what you think!


End file.
